But here the Colts sit, in second place in the AFC, two games behind the Denver Broncos. New England’s loss to Carolina on Monday moved the Colts up to the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Colts own the tiebreaker over the Patriots because they have a better winning percentage in conference games. The Colts are 5-2 and New England is 4-2 in conference games this season.

I think the Broncos will end up as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but finishing second is just as important for the Colts because that means they won’t have to play the first weekend of the playoffs.

Here’s a breakdown of the current standings in the AFC and the combined winning percentage of each team's remaining schedule.

Current AFC Standings

Team

Record

Remaining SOS

1. Denver

9-1

.508

2. Indianapolis

7-3

.475

3. New England

7-3

.486

4. Cincinnati

7-4

.420

5. Kansas City

9-1

.517

6. New York Jets

5-5

.475

The Colts have three games remaining against teams with a winning record -- Arizona, Cincinnati and Kansas City -- with all three of those games on the road. The Bengals have the best shot to move up to the No. 2 seed because their remaining opponents only have a winning percent of .420.

I don't think the Colts will finish the season as the No. 2 seed. But they deserve some credit for currently being this position after getting hit hard with injuries to key players this season.